Greetings from EDA’s Chicago Regional Office! We are preparing our office for regular use, and I look forward to seeing the CRO team and meeting all of our new staff in “real life.” This month, in another sign that we are returning to normal, I had the pleasure of making my first in-person visit to an EDA grantee in two years. I joined Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y Castillo for her visit to the EDA University Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. We continue to be impressed with the work they are doing to help the entire state recover and rebuild after the pandemic.

We are very busy processing applications for American Rescue Plan funding. Our region’s first competitive grants were announced in the past few weeks, and we have many, many more coming down the pike! Check out recently issued grants at the bottom of this newsletter or on eda.gov. For a status update on all ARP programs, click here.

I appreciate all you are doing to assist our Great Lakes States come back stronger than ever. Take care of yourselves, and in the spirit of spring, stop and smell the flowers!

Earlier this month, Assistant Secretary Castillo kicked off our “Coalition Conversations” tour in the Midwest with visits to two Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) finalists to learn more about how regional coalitions are coming together to develop strategies to strengthen their regional economies.

The first visit was in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., with representatives from the coalition led by the Wisconsin Paper Council. The second visit was in St. Paul, Minn., with the coalition led by Minneapolis-Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership.

Assistant Secretary Castillo moderated a roundtable discussion with each coalition, which were among 13 randomly selected sites. The visits will not factor into the BBBRC’s competitive merit review process, which is ongoing and unrelated to the conversations.

EDA is now accepting applications for the Build to Scale program, a $45 million national competition to further technology-based economic development initiatives that accelerate high-quality job growth, create more economic opportunities, and support the next generation of industry leading companies. Click here for the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. EDT June 13, 2022. (Click here for press release.)

The program comprises two competitions. The Venture Challenge seeks to support high-growth, technology-centric entrepreneurship to stimulate innovation, increase economic prosperity, and create high-skill, high-wage jobs. The Capital Challenge increases access to entrepreneur-ready, equity-based capital by providing operational support for early-stage investment funds, angel networks, and investor training programs. For more information, visit: https://eda.gov/oie/buildtoscale.

Two Midwest representatives traveled to Louisiana to attend last month’s Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE), a program that brings together global leaders to share economic development best practices and explore opportunities for partnerships.

Nicole Griensewic, executive director of Region Nine Development Commission, an EDA Economic Development District in Minnesota, and Dr. Jay Walsh, vice president of economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, were among more than 60 participants from over 20 countries that toured sites throughout Louisiana. Read more in EDA’s blog post.

The ACE program is one of the core initiatives of the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) and organized in partnership with EDA, the International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Department of State. For more about ACE Louisiana, click here.